Press Release

Napa Valley Winery Wins Global Tourism Award

11/18/2008 - St Helena, CA-Napa Valley restaurant etoile at Domaine Chandon has been named a global winner in the 2009 Great Wine Capitals Best of Wine Tourism awards announced last week at the organization's annual international conference in Cape Town, South Africa. A delegation of wine industry and business leaders from Napa Valley attended and accepted the award on behalf of Domaine Chandon.

The conference brought together representatives of wine-related institutions and associations, and politicians from all over the world. The showcase of the event was the Best of Wine Tourism Awards, where etoile at Domaine Chandon was named the Best Of winner in the Wine Tourism Restaurants category.

"As the only restaurant located within a winery in the Napa Valley, etoile epitomizes the very best that wine country dining has to offer. Our culinary team routinely collaborates with the winemaking team to offer dishes that are wine-inspired, often locally sourced, and presented in an appealing way to promote an interactive epicurean experience for our guests. We are honored to be recognized as the Best Wine Tourism Restaurant in Napa Valley, and indeed the world," said VP of Marketing and Business Development for Domaine Chandon, Ryan Harris.

Napa Valley/San Francisco is America's representative to the Great Wine Capitals Global Network. Domaine Chandon was one of seven regional "Best Of" winners who moved forward to the global competition. The other regional winners included:

Accommodations: The Meritage Resort and Spa

Architecture, Parks & Gardens: Rubicon Estate

Art & Culture: Robert Mondavi Winery

Innovative Wine Tourism Experiences: The Hess Collection

Wine Tourism Services: Viviani Destination Management

Sustainable Wine Tourism Practices: Long Meadow Ranch

More than 30 entries were considered in the regional competition held earlier this year.

About Great Wine Capitals Global Network
Great Wine Capitals is an alliance of eight cities located in internationally renowned wine-producing areas throughout the world: Bordeaux (France), Bilbao-Rioja (Spain), Cape Town (South Africa), Florence (Italy), Melbourne (Australia), Mendoza (Argentina), Porto (Portugal), San Francisco-Napa Valley (USA).The Network was established in 1999. Its Charter or Partnership Agreement was signed by each of the cities and sets out the aims and responsibilities of the member cities as well as the operational aspects of the Network. The Network has a permanent secretariat located in Bordeaux, France. Each city has a Network coordinator, whose task it is to liaise with the other cities and to be the point of contact in each city for media enquiries, business development opportunities and education. www.greatwinecapitals.com